Civil Defence Act (Unpassed)
Civil Defense Act Drafted By: Michael Blumenthal (LD) Co-Sponsors: RECOGNISING: That our nation does not have any means of coordinating a response to a major natural or man-made disaster. ALARMED: At the potential for many lives to be lost or put at risk and property lost or severely damaged due to a chaotic response by emergency services. ENSURING: That the unnecessary loss of lives and property which may result in an uncoordinated response by emergency services will not occur. HEREBY: Establishing the Civil Defence Agency upon the passing of this bill. Article One: Declaration of a State of Emergency 1a: As per the State of Emergency Act, the President of Aurentina or the Minister of the Interior may proclaim a State of Emergency at a nationwide level in response to a natural or man-made disaster within Aurentina. 1b: The Minister of the Interior may also delcare a State of Emergency in a province or provinces affected by a natural or man-made disaster. 1c: Hereby defines a “State of Emergency” further as a proclamation by the government in order to respond to a natural or man-made disaster resulting in fatalities and/or injuries as well as damage and destruction to public and private property. Article Two: On Administration 2a: The Civil Defence Agency (CDA) shall be put under the control of the Ministry of the Interior. 2b: The CDA shall be led by a Director of Operations. This position is appointed by the Minister of Interior and is under the joint jurisdiction of the President of Aurentina and the Minister of the Interior. The Director has control over CDA staff and works with the President and the Minister of the Interior in a disaster response scenario and is in control of establishing contingency plans in case of a natural or man-made disaster. 2c: The CDA shall have a nationwide headquarters located in the capital city and provincial headquarters in each province. Each provincial headquarters shall be run by a Provincial Operations Coordinator who shall be appointed to the position by both provincial authorities and the Minister of the Interior. 2c: Hereby grants emergency powers of control over the Commonwealth Fire Service, emergency medical services, the National Police, the National Gendarmerie and the Armed Forces following a delcaration of a State of Emergency which affects the entire nation to the President. 2d: Hereby grants emergency powers of control over the Commonwealth Fire Service, emergency medical services and the National Police following a delcaration of a State of Emergency which affects a single, or multiple, province/s to the President of Aurentina or the Minister of the Interior should the President be incapable of the task or requests the Minister of the Interior to do so in their place. Article Three: On Operations 3a: The CDA's primary operations are to identify potential natural and man-made hazards and make plans accordingly to respond to any disaster caused by said hazards. 3b: The CDA's primary function during a State of Emergency is to identify the areas most in need of emergency assistance and to send emergency services to those areas as swiftly as possible. 3c: The CDA's secondary function during a State of Emergency is to deploy law enforcement officers and Gendarmerie personnel to prevent looting, public unrest and conduct evacuations if needed as well as ensuring that other emergency services responding are not delayed. 3d: The CDA's secondary operations outside of a State of Emergency are disaster prevention and normal emergency response and rescue. The CDA shall conduct firefighting duties within National Parks as well as all aerial firefighting duties. The CDA shall also conduct limited coast guard duties and also respond to bomb-threats. Article Four: On Apperance 4a: Hereby adopts the international symbol of civil defence as the official emblem of the Civil Defence Agency. The emblem shall consist of a yellow circle with a blue triangle insert and the white acronym for the agency within the triangle. This shall be displayed on all vehicles and aircraft. 4b: Hereby mandates that all vehicles and aircraft be painted in a yellow and red scheme with all emergency response vehicles to carry blue lights and all vehicles and aircraft to display the CDA emblem prominantly. 4c: Mandates that the duty uniform of non-firefighting or non-emergency personnel to consist of a white shirt with the CDA emblem on the left breast. Individuals may wear clothing of their choice in addition to this shirt. 4d: Mandates that the duty uniform of firefighting and emergency personnel to be that of their equivalent non-government services but to be dark blue in colour and have the CDA emblem prominantly displayed.